The other night I'm watching TV and I peeped the commercial for the new season of Power that's about to drop and for a minute I got hype on some ole "I can't wait" type ish. Then I paused for a sec like hold tight....I don't even like "Power" like that, so why the hell am I getting hype? Now, for those of you who don't have Starz or just never bothered to check out the show, it's basically about 2 best friends Ghost & Tommy (who is played by possibly the worst actor I've EVER seen. This dude is from the Malachi from Group Home school of acting) who run drugs in NYC. Now, Ghost is married and just opened a club as a front and to launder their drug money but one night in the club he peeps his high school sweetheart Angela & starts kicking it with her which ain't sitting well with Tommy cause she's a fed. But Ghost doesn't care...he's in love. As far as Malachi aka Tommy goes, he's falling for this chick who's a bartender at the club who's playing him left and right and gassing his head on that lead singer hoopla like "why is Ghost in charge & not you?" And dude is falling for it just like Ralph Tresvant did and we all saw how dude's solo career panned out so we already know this ain't gonna end well for Tommy. And for some more drama, lets throw in the fact that Ghost's wife Tasha flirts with his driver (and damn near anybody who's alive) to keep tabs on him and his driver just happens to be 50 Cent's son, who is Ghost and Tommy's old head who schooled them to the drug game but is locked up but who is also trying to kill Ghost. So, that's the show in a nutshell. Sounds dope right? And for the most part it's an aiight show. In fact the last episode of Season1 was much doper then what I thought it was gonna be. But cats out here are acting like "Power" is "Illmatic" when it's really more like "Street's Disciple."
So with that storyline and drama, why am I not hype for the new season? Well, outside of just aiight writing and wack acting, it's just not believable to me. See, I'm the type of dude who wants to see realism when I watch TV & movies, especially when it comes to drugs and the street life. So when things are fake or just don't add up it's like listening to a fake gangsta rapper who you KNOW ain't about that life. So why isn't it believable? Let's start with the fact that Ghost (who is a drug lord not a drug dealer) is SO sprung off his high school sweetheart this he takes her out for ice cream at a nice 'lil quaint ice cream parlor in Queens where they grew up. Now, anyone who watched the Wire, do me this justice and riddle me this. Can you imagine Avon or Stringer, hell even Bodie for that matter taking their high school sweetheart out for a half & half up at Sunny's Subs...dolo? And you don't even gotta ask about Marlo cause you already saw how he got down with ole girl he was smashing. See, the way Marlo dealt with Devonne was an authentic look into how drug lords get down with love. No cute dates over banana splits when you about that life.
And I'm sure somebody will say, well Ghost was trying to get out the game so he was softening up which has absolutely nuthin to do with nuthin in my eyes. Hell, Stringer was trying to get out the game too but you didn't see him taking Donetta out for some cold stones after a movie out at White Marsh! Another example of Power just not being believable is the fact that Tommy keeps his stash is a secret compartment behind his cereal in a kitchen cabinet. A FREAKING KITCHEN CABINET! Not a hidden safe behind a Basquiat painting (ya'll know after Jay started shouting out dude, everybody who had dough had to cop one) but a kitchen cabinet. I'm telling you, if the cops or the stick up kids ever raid his crib, there's absolutely no way they'll EVER find that. I know crackheads who have better hiding spots for their money. So between one drug lord going out for ice cream with his boo with no security and the other leaving his stash out on his coffee table, these two have gotta be the most dysfunctional drug dealers ever and are just DYING to get killed and/or locked up! Not to mention, Ghost eventually decides he's gonna leave Tasha & the kids to be with Angela but this dude doesn't transfer the money out their joint bank accounts to his dolo jawn or an off seas account or nuthin before he jets! This dude just wants to leave Tash ALL the money huh? Again, these dudes are the nicest, sweetest drug lords in the history of the game. But the bigger question is, if the show is SO bad, then why am I still at least a 'lil hype to see it? And that answer just peels back the onion that much more.
Back in 2001, me, my wife & my moms went to see that train wreck called "The Brothers." And while me & my wife thought it was wack, my moms gave it 5 mics and we were both looking like, huh? My moms went on to explain that when she was coming up, it was damn near impossible to see more then 5 black folk on the screen at one time. So basically any movie with more then 5 black folk in it is good money for her. And now 14 years later...I see first hand what she was saying. See, there ain't no blacks on the TV screen anymore, unless it's some ole Basketball Wives, Atlanta Housewives, Love & Basketball, reality buffoonery going on. LONG gone are the days of us having Martin, the Wayans Brothers, Girlfriends, the Jamie Foxx Show, My Wife & Kids, the Bernie Mac Show, Everybody Hates Chris, etc. etc. on TV. To be honest, I'm sure most folks forgot just how many black sit coms we used to have. And now we're down to...one with Blackish. So, now I feel like my moms did, cause if I see more then 5 black folk on the screen and there's an actually script involved, I get excited. Even if the storyline isn't believable and the writing and acting sucks (see "Empire") I still tune in (or rather DVR it) just to see black folk (even if they're ALL light skin...see Empire) on the TV screen. So, even though it's not believable and Tommy's acting sucks and 50 Cent adds absolutely nothing to the show but some wack ass theme music, I'll still be tuned in on Saturday night for the simple fact that there ain't no blacks on the TV screen and I ain't even gonna front...I miss seeing us there.
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